Monthly House Price Index statistics for September 2018 published

Published: 14 November 2018

Average price of property in Scotland up 5.8 per cent on previous year.

The latest publication of the monthly UK HPI shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in September 2018 was £152,961 – an increase of 5.8 per cent on September in the previous year and a decrease of 0.1 per cent when compared to the previous month. This compares to a UK average of £232,554, which was an increase of 3.5 per cent on September in the previous year and no change (0.0%) when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in July 2018 was 8,770 – a decrease of 1.9 per cent on July 2017. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 17.2 per cent in England and 10.6 per cent in Wales in July 2018, and 12.4 per cent in Northern Ireland in Quarter 3 - 2018.

Registers of Scotland Business Development and Information Director Kenny Crawford said: “Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in September with an increase of 5.8 per cent when compared to September 2017. Average prices have been increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

“Residential sales volumes decreased in July. The annual decrease of 1.9 per cent when compared with July 2017 in Scotland is in the context of much larger decreases across the rest of the UK. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date – from April 2018 to July 2018 – was 34,763. This is a decrease of 4.8 per cent on the equivalent year to date position in the previous financial year 2017/18.”

Average price increases were recorded in the majority (27) of local authorities in September 2018, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow City, where average prices increased by 11.9 per cent to £109,828 and 10.4 per cent to £137,507 respectively. The largest decreases were recorded in Aberdeen City and Scottish Borders, where average prices fell by 4.4 per cent to £161,439 and 2.7 per cent to £151,200 respectively.

Increases in sales volumes were recorded in 17 local authorities in July 2018, when comparing volumes with the previous year. The biggest increases were in South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire, where volumes increased by 39.0 per cent to 260 sales and 26.6 per cent to 224 sales respectively. The biggest decreases were in Stirling and City of Edinburgh, where volumes fell by 22.9 per cent to 131 sales and 21.2 per cent to 935 sales respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in September 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Semi-detached properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.1 per cent to £159,933. The average price of flatted properties rose by 4.2 per cent to £109,209, the smallest increase of all property types.

The average price in September 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £123,547 – an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £183,512 – an increase of 6.2 per cent on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £140,476 – an increase of 5.2 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £158,785 – an increase of 6.1 per cent on the previous year.

Notes to editors

For the full picture and detail, access the UK HPI and the HPI Scotland. As with other indicators in the Housing Market, which typically fluctuate from month to month, it is important not to put too much weight on one month’s set of house price data.

The UK HPI was designated as National Statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation on 18 September 2018.

The UK HPI is published on the second or third Wednesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. Previously these figures were published on the second or third Tuesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. See the calendar of release dates. Further information on this change is available in this statement.

A comparison guide is available that compares the source data, index and methods of the different house price index measures that are published in the UK. This guide highlights the strengths and limitations of each measure to aid users in choosing the most appropriate index for their requirements.

The statistics have been produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The UK House Price Index is calculated by the Office for National Statistics and Land & Property Services Northern Ireland. Find out about the methodology used.

Separate HPI releases are also published by HM Land Registry and Land & Property Services Northern Ireland, which focus on the figures for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland. The Office for National Statistics also publishes a monthly HPI statistical bulletin with commentary on the whole of the UK.

Registers of Scotland began compiling quarterly statistics on the housing market with the completion of the extension of the Land Register to all counties in Scotland in April 2003. The differences in methodology between our quarterly statistics and the HPI are highlighted here. Charts are also available on our website to allow comparison between the two statistical outputs and to explain the key differences.

Footnotes

This publication covers statistics up to September 2018.

All average prices reported from the UK HPI are geometric means, which will typically be closer to the median than the arithmetic mean.

Average price estimates for the most recent months are provisional figures and are likely to change when more recent data are incorporated into the index. Revision policies can be accessed here.

Due to there being a period of 2 to 8 weeks between completion and registration of sales, volume figures based on the month of date of entry are presented up to July because August and September figures may change when more recent sales applications data are received.

Orkney Islands showed an increase of 11.7 per cent. Local authority areas where sales volumes within the 12 months to July 2018 represent less than 1 per cent of the all Scotland sales volume are excluded from the figures used for highlighting purposes due to the volatility of the market in these areas.

The sales volume for July 2018 is still subject to revision, and will increase as later registered transactions are incorporated into the index. The annual change is a comparison with the final revised figure for July 2017.

Clackmannanshire showed an increase of 58.8 per cent, while Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Na h-Eileanan Siar showed decreases of 33.3 per cent, 31.6 per cent and 25.6 per cent respectively. Local authority areas where sales volumes within the 12 months to July 2018 represent less than 1 per cent of the all Scotland sales volume are excluded from the figures used for highlighting purposes due to the volatility of the market in these areas.